This Raspberry Pi seismograph detects vibrations from earthquakes to footsteps

In the same way that apps augment the abilities of smartphones, people keep on coming up with new gizmos to make the pocket-sized Raspberry Pi even more useful. The latest is a personal seismographer named the Raspberry Shake
that's currently raising funds on Kickstarter. With the Shake, you get a sensor that can record anything from earthquakes hundreds of miles away to footsteps in the room next door. All the early bird pledges have gone, but you can still get yourself a fully-working unit for $149 (Raspberry Pi sold separately).

see the vibrations around you

"The Raspberry Shake is for any person who would like to 'see' the vibrations that are all around us but are generally not felt," says the Kickstarter blurb. "Any felt vibration whether it is a truck or a tremor will be detected by your Raspberry Shake."

You can see the unit in action in the video below, with the Shake able to register not only the different impacts caused by different coin denominations being dropped on a table, but also the vibrations when those coins are picked up in the first place! It's a pretty amazing piece of kit, and we can't wait to see all the uses the Shake will get put to round the world. Our one regret: that they didn't name it the Raspberry Piesmograph.